Featured Photo #28 – Invertigos A No-Go

Six Flags America’s Two Face was one of the roller coasters that Six Flags added to Adventure World when it bought the park. Along with launch coaster Joker’s Jinx, hyper coaster Superman: Ride of Steel and flying coaster Batwing, the park’s lineup of modern thrill rides boomed in only a few years.

Two Face had a run of accidents before it was removed in 2008 and I’m baffled as to why the Vekoma Invertigo coaster model has seemed to never catch on. I’m sure that an inverted version of the successful Vekoma boomerang coasters seemed like a good idea. Aside from sharing the same layout as those common sitdown shuttle loopers (with a reverse chain lift, boomerang, and a vertical loop), the Invertigo model features seats where riders face each other. I found my rides on Six Flags America’s Two Face and Kings Island’s Invertigo pretty fun. And I don’t remember a whole lot of head banging like I’ve experienced on the Vekoma SLC’s (appropriately called Mind Erasers).

But for some reason, this roller coaster model has had a pretty doomed existence. Two Face in particular has been at the center of several accidents. I wrote about the 2007 incident where riders were stuck on the lift and the rest are detailed on Wikipedia. I was surprised to find out that the doomed-ness wasn’t limited to Six Flags America. RCDB lists the four Invertigos that were built. The other three include Kings Island’s Invertigo which may have been the best installation, another coaster that has been relocated twice, and California’s Great America’s Invertigo that has been relocated to Dorney Park for a 2012 rebirth. Relocations aren’t necessarily a sign that a ride is troubled, but you may remember the Invertigo accident at California’s Great America where riders were stranded for hours. Hopefully, Vekoma has solved these issues and Dorney’s re-themed Invertigo will be trouble free.

What’s Your Take?
Do you have a theory as to why these coasters have had incidents and why they never caught on? Leave a comment below.

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